I don't have much but a "me too" on the scratching my head on the 128K pricing nonsense.
I'm one of the "recent new collectors" that has been mentioned, and as such I'll shed some light on at least one data point of the new collector motivation and some observations fresh to the hobby.
Why: Nostalgia, desire for a low-distraction minimalist productivity environment, interest in setting up a safe(er) computing environment for my children. I think these are legit motivations.
What:
1. 7 eMate300s for $50 ($7.15 each). These were a good deal, but they need new cell repacks (which I have done in the garage). The seller didn't try and gull me.
2. LaserWriter Select 360. $90 ($60 of it shipping) I'm not satisfied--pending some work on my side. The seller had posted a photo of a printed page and though the unit is in good cosmetic condition and very complete in the original box, it just sits there after the power light blinks a while. Laserwriter utility says toner cartridge, so I have one on the way but I'm skeptical and think it might be a fuser lamp malf or even worse caps (I am going to wait to start digging into it).
3. Apple Keyboard II and Square Mouse for $25. These were in great condition and while the price is probably a little high, I don't have the time to go yard saling.
4. "Vintage" Mac IIci. $40. This one was a bit of a disappointment. Pretty sure the seller was a "recycler" who buys huge lots and disposes of it with as little work on his part as possible. The hard drive had been cut out with a pair of dykes but otherwise it works and the NUBUS cards made it worth it--this would have been easily identifiable but wasn't noted and I hadn't asked (lesson learned).
5. Powerbook 1400c. $100. This was an almost like-new 1400c, so in my mind the price was worth it. But, the "64MB RAM" was half virtual memory so was there a little shadyness going on? I could drive myself crazy going down all those rabbit holes.
6. Mac IIci with M1212 Monitor and 170MB external SCSI HD. $211. I spent the extra money because the photos verified that it would get to the desktop, I could tell that the internal HD was 80MB, there was a network card, cache card, and a video card, I could use the ext. HD to move files, there was probably some decent software on it, and both banks of RAM were filled with at least 1MB SIMMs, plus a network card. The seller packaged it like a nincompoop with boxes they got from the post office as padding and I was lucky it arrived in working order. But it is a working system and I hooked it up to a nice LCD and am satisfied (though I didn't get lucky with the RAM--only 8MB).
7. Powerbook 180. $35. This one was in great shape but not top of the line options. No complaints.
8. Powerbook 180. $28. This one was in good shape, minor cosmetic flaws but it had high RAM and the largest HD. No complaints.
Observations: Sometimes it's a little difficult to understand what is being presented. $600 for what I bought--is that a lot, is that not a lot? Was I an ignoramus? Did I unwittingly help drive prices up? Did I bore you? There's just so much to consider if you're thoughtful.
One thing that I will offer is that impatience, desire, and idle cash drives impulse purchases on eBay. A high BIN is like throwing a bit of bait out there. Some will bite, some won't, so what? There are probably sellers out there whose only reason for setting high BINs is that they don't even know how worthless what they have is, and they're only referencing some other seller's listing as a guide for what they should sell their "rare, vintage 128K MAC" for.
Anyway, definitely food for thought.
Best,
John
I'm one of the "recent new collectors" that has been mentioned, and as such I'll shed some light on at least one data point of the new collector motivation and some observations fresh to the hobby.
Why: Nostalgia, desire for a low-distraction minimalist productivity environment, interest in setting up a safe(er) computing environment for my children. I think these are legit motivations.
What:
1. 7 eMate300s for $50 ($7.15 each). These were a good deal, but they need new cell repacks (which I have done in the garage). The seller didn't try and gull me.
2. LaserWriter Select 360. $90 ($60 of it shipping) I'm not satisfied--pending some work on my side. The seller had posted a photo of a printed page and though the unit is in good cosmetic condition and very complete in the original box, it just sits there after the power light blinks a while. Laserwriter utility says toner cartridge, so I have one on the way but I'm skeptical and think it might be a fuser lamp malf or even worse caps (I am going to wait to start digging into it).
3. Apple Keyboard II and Square Mouse for $25. These were in great condition and while the price is probably a little high, I don't have the time to go yard saling.
4. "Vintage" Mac IIci. $40. This one was a bit of a disappointment. Pretty sure the seller was a "recycler" who buys huge lots and disposes of it with as little work on his part as possible. The hard drive had been cut out with a pair of dykes but otherwise it works and the NUBUS cards made it worth it--this would have been easily identifiable but wasn't noted and I hadn't asked (lesson learned).
5. Powerbook 1400c. $100. This was an almost like-new 1400c, so in my mind the price was worth it. But, the "64MB RAM" was half virtual memory so was there a little shadyness going on? I could drive myself crazy going down all those rabbit holes.
6. Mac IIci with M1212 Monitor and 170MB external SCSI HD. $211. I spent the extra money because the photos verified that it would get to the desktop, I could tell that the internal HD was 80MB, there was a network card, cache card, and a video card, I could use the ext. HD to move files, there was probably some decent software on it, and both banks of RAM were filled with at least 1MB SIMMs, plus a network card. The seller packaged it like a nincompoop with boxes they got from the post office as padding and I was lucky it arrived in working order. But it is a working system and I hooked it up to a nice LCD and am satisfied (though I didn't get lucky with the RAM--only 8MB).
7. Powerbook 180. $35. This one was in great shape but not top of the line options. No complaints.
8. Powerbook 180. $28. This one was in good shape, minor cosmetic flaws but it had high RAM and the largest HD. No complaints.
Observations: Sometimes it's a little difficult to understand what is being presented. $600 for what I bought--is that a lot, is that not a lot? Was I an ignoramus? Did I unwittingly help drive prices up? Did I bore you? There's just so much to consider if you're thoughtful.
One thing that I will offer is that impatience, desire, and idle cash drives impulse purchases on eBay. A high BIN is like throwing a bit of bait out there. Some will bite, some won't, so what? There are probably sellers out there whose only reason for setting high BINs is that they don't even know how worthless what they have is, and they're only referencing some other seller's listing as a guide for what they should sell their "rare, vintage 128K MAC" for.
Anyway, definitely food for thought.
Best,
John